Henrico County Removes 120 Flock Cameras
County crews took down the equipment after the vendor failed to meet its removal deadline.
By Javier Sanders ·
County workers removed more than 120 Flock cameras from Henrico County, Virginia, on Saturday. The manual takedown was necessary because the vendor did not fulfill its contractual duty to remove the hardware after the agreement ended.
Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas confirmed the removal count. Officials noted that the poles supporting the cameras remain in place. Those poles are still the responsibility of Flock to take down.
The county ended its use of the automatic license plate reader system last month. Police stopped using the technology by mid-October. A social media post dated October 6 announced the decision to cut ties with the vendor.
Leaders stated the decision evolved from conversations with residents, police, and experts. They weighed the benefits of the technology against privacy and data-access concerns. Officials described the move as preventative. They said there was no evidence that Henrico police misused the system.
Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper III, chairman of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, addressed the timing of the decision. "Rather be proactive than reactive. And we’re aware of the conversations that are occurring nationally, as well as on the state level. And we just, again, felt that this was the right time to make this decision," Cooper said.
The technology has drawn public criticism regarding privacy and potential misuse. The county had expected the cameras to be gone within two weeks of the contract's end. That timeline did not hold, prompting the county to intervene directly.
